Feed device



Oct. 7 1924,

T. B. Hux-:sTxs

FEED DEVICE 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept Patented ct. 7, '1924.

asien PATENT OFFICE..

THOMAS B. HUESTIS, 0F BRSTOL, RHODEISLAND, ASSIGNOR '1.0 NATIONAL INDI RUBBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND. `i

EEED nEvIcE;

Application filed September 9, 1920. Serial No. 409,049.

4To all fai/wm t may concern.' Y

Beit lmown that I, THOMAS B. HUEsTis, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Bristol, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Feed Device, of which the following i's a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a feed device, more particularly to a device for feeding small blanks, such as ankle' patches, to an. embossing die mechanism, 4press or similar device. v

In the manufacture of certain types of canvas shoes it lis usual to Vreinforce the .ankle portions by attaching thereto small discs of a suitable material, such asleather, which are known in the trade as ankle patches. These patches are usually embossed prior to 'their attachment to the shoe 'with a medallion, trade mark, or similar device. The embossed portion covers the major part of the patch, leaving a relatively small margin, and if these patches are manually fed to the embossing dies the margin for gripping them bythe fingers of the operator is so small that there is considerable risk of injury to the operator unless some form of suitable safety appliance is attached to the die mechanism. In addition the centering of the ankle patch with respect to the die mechanism depends upon the skill and care with which the operator presents the patch tothe die, and as a result the embossed portion is not uniformly disposed in the center of the patch. Moreover as the operator must present each patch to the "dies and withdraw it after embossing the process is relatively slow. Similar objections apply whenever it is desired to feed 'small blanks to a die mechanism for a cutting, embossing or other operation.

An object 'of my -invention is to provide a means for rapidly 'and accurately feeding material 'to a machine for operating thereon.

Another'object is to provide an improved means for automatically'presenting a blank tov a die mechanism and for withdrawing the blank.

Still another object is to obviate the'neces- 'sity for safety appliances tin connection with a die mechanism.

A 'further object i's tof'provide means for 'invariably -presenting a blank 'in accurately the nut 10.

centered relation to a machine for operating thereon.

A still further object is to provide means for centrifugally discharging a finished blank from a machine for performing an operation on the blank.

For a detailed disclosure of the invention reference is had to the accompanying speciflcation and drawings, in which latter Fig. 1 isa side elevation of my improved n of .the drive die mechanism, while v3 designates the lower movable member of the die mechanism.

(jacent its middle portion the frame 1 is eX- tended `horizontally to form .ay bearing ,4, rin 'which bearing is mounted a short vertical shaft 5, having a reducedrextension 15 at its upper end. A circular vtable or carrier disc 6 is mounted on the reduced extension 5', while the lower end 'of the shaft 5 carries a gear 7. double end leaf spring 8 the free ends of which' are rolled upwardly as shown at 9,

`the extension 5 of the sjhaft 5 passingthrough the central portion of the spring, and the spring and carrier 6-both being se'- cured in position on .the shaft by means of Adjacent each .end the spring 8 is provided with radial slots 11, for a purpose to be later described. Beneath each slot 11 the carrier 6 is provided with :an aper- Ature.12, in which is vertically movable a'pinv 13, .having a head '14 adapted to nest 'ifnfa Arecess 15 inthe carrierf. Above vthe head 14 each `pin is provided with a flatteneden- Vtension 16, adapted to enteracorresponding slot 11 in the spring :8, whilethe lower end of each pin is provided with a bevelled portion 17 on one side. In "front of the carrier 6 a small support or table 1.8 is disposed Ywith its upper snrfacel v.in substantial horizontal alignment lwith the uppersurface ofthe carrier 6,the table 1,8 being held in position :by :means Superposed on the carrier 6 yis a of the screw 19 and steady pin 2O entering the frame 1. As in the embodiment herein disclosed the patch or blank to be fed to the die mechanism is substantially circular in form the table 18 is also made of such shape, but as its center is disposed at a distance from the periphery of thecarrier 6 less than the radius of table 18 a portion of the table 18 is cut away adjacent the periphery of carrier 6 as shown at 21 in Fig. 3. rllhe edge of table 18 is provided at one side with a slightly raised ledge 22 forming a gauge or guard for the ankle patch. Below the carrier 6 the frame 1 is provided with a cam 23 which is curved on an arc having the shaft 5 as its center, the cam being disposed at a radial distance from the shaft 5 substantially the same as that of the pins 13. The cam is provided with an inclined portion 24 at its forward end, while its top is flat as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and terminates abruptly adjacent a line connecting the centersof carrier 6 and table 18.

Meshing with the gear 7 is a gear 25 bearing a two to one ratio thereto, said gear 25 being splined to a sleeve 26 rotatable on a shaft 27 mounted in the frame 1. At its outer end the hub of gear 25 is provided with a circularly arranged series of conical depressions or recesses 28, with which is adapted to engage a `conical ended pin 29 slida-bl@ in a recess in the frame 1, the pin 29 being resiliently held in engagement with a recess 28 by the coil spring 30. The sleeve 26 is pro-vided at one end with a series of ratchet teeth 31 with which the ratchet teeth 32 on a sleeve 33, also mounted on the shaft 27, adapted to eng-age. The sleeve 33 is resiliently held against sleeve 26 by means of the coil spring 34, mounted on the shaft 27 between the sleeve 33 and the enlarged end 35 of the shaft. Extending from the sleeve 33 is an angular arm 36 having at its lower end aslot 37 provided at one end with a curved extension 37, with which slot a pin 38 carried by the arm 39 is adapted to engage, the arm 39 being adjustably secured to the lower movable die member 3 by means of the slot 40 and screw 41.

In operation the die mechanism is started,

and with each upward movement of the lower die member 3 the angular arm 36 is rotated 90 on shaft 27 by means of the arm 39 and pin 38. During this movement teeth 32 of sleeve 33 slide idly over the ratchet teeth 31. Upon the return movement of the lower die member, however, the arms 39 and 36'rotate the gear 25 90o Vthrough the ratchet teeth 32 and 31, and

due to the two to one ratio between gears 25 and 7 the shaft 5 and parts carried thereby are rotated through an arc of 1800, thereby reversing the positions of pins 13 and the ends of the leaf spring 8. It will be noted that during this movement, when the end of spring 8 which was adjacent the die mechanism approaches a position over the cam 23 the lower bevelled end of pin 13 rides up on the incline 24 of the cam, thereby lifting the end of spring 8. As the pin 13 moves along the fla-t top portion of cam 23 it maintains the end of spring 8 spaced from the carrier 6. The operator in the mean time has disposed an ankle patch 42 on the table 18, readily centering said patch by means of the curved gauge 22, and due to the cut away portion 21 of the table 18 one edge of the patch 42 will project slightly over the carrier 6. As the pin 13 reaches the abrupt end of cam 23 the spring 8 carries it downwardly and the edge of the patch 42 is gripped between the end of spring 8 and the carrier 6. At the next downward stroke of the angular' arm 36 the carrier 6 and spring 8 are moved a further angular distance of 180o, thereby presenting the ankle patch 42 for operation upon the same by the die mechanism. After the patch has been embossed it moves forwardly again upon the next half turn, and as the pin 13 reaches the incline 24 of cam 23 and lifts the end of spring 8, as before described, the embossed patch is freed and due to centrifugal action flies outwardly at about the point indicated in dot and dash lines at 42 in F ig. 3, where it may be received by any suitable receptacle or upon a conveyor. As the arm 39 starts on its downward movement its pin 38 at first moves idly in the straight portion of slot 37, thereby allowing the dies to separate and release the patch 42 before the arm 36 is actuated by the pin 38 coming in contact with the wall of the curved slot extension 37. lt will thus be seen that the operator merely places successive ankle pat-ches 42 in centered position on the table 18, and that on each half turn of the carrier a new patch is presented to the die for embossing and an embossed patch is thrown off at 42. Each end of the spring .8 in coaction with the carrier 6 forms a gripping device for the patch, and while in the present instance the coacting member 6 has been shown as a continuous disc or table it is evident that this is not essential, it being merely necessary that there be `a coacting gripping member adjacent each end of the spring 8 and rotatable therewith.

lt will be seen that by the use of my improved feed device the operators fingers will not be brought near the die mechanism and therefore the use of any 4safety appliance for the die mechanism is obviated. Moreover by reason of the gauge 22 the edge of a patch is always presented in eXactly the same position to the gripping devices and the. latter always present the patch in accurately centered relation to the die. As the operator can quickly center each patch on the table 18 and his work consists of nothing else the machine can be operated at a high speed relatively to one in which the patch is manually suppliedto the die mechanism.

lVhile in thel present disclosure a specific embodiment of the invention is shown, it is evident that it is readily applicable to the feeding of blanks of various descriptions to any machine for performing a cutting, embossing or other operation on the same, and if desired any suitable automatic means may vbe employed for feeding blanks to the table 18. Numerous other modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A feed device for a blank treating mechanism comprising a Xedly supported flat carrier rotatably mounted adjacent said mechanism, means for supporting the edge of a flat'blank in the path of the edge of said carrier, means for causing said carrier to seize the blank by its edge, whereby it may be carried to the blank treating mechanism, and means for releasing the blank from the carrier after it has passed beyond the blank treating mechanism.

2. In a feed device for a die mechanism, a blank supply station, rotary blank feeding means disposed on a vertical axis between said station and a. die, said feeding means including means for retaining a bla-nk thereon, and means for releasing a nished blank during themovement of the feeding means, whereby the blank may be thrown clear of the feeding means.

3. A feed device for a die mechanism comprising a fiXedly supported rotary transfer device for presenting a flat blank to the die mechanism including means for 'retaining the blank, means for positioning the edge of a blank inthe path of said transfer device to be received thereby, and means for releasing the edge of a died blank from said device while the latter is in motion.

4. A feed device for a die mechanism comprising a material supply station, a rotary carrier disposed between the station and die, a plurality of devices coacting with said carrier to grip material, and means for intermittently actuating said devices and carrier to seize material at the station, present it to the die and release it at a collecting point. l Y

5. A feed device for a die mechanism comprising fiXedly supported, rotatable means for intermittently presenting material thereto for operation thereon, means whereby said rotatable means may be supplied with material in advance of the die mechanism, and means whereby the material may be delivered from said rotatable means after leaving the die mechanism. i

6. Means for feeding material to an operating mechanism comprising` a rotary normally operative gripping means adjacent said mechanism, means for continuously rotating said gripping means in the same direction by an intermittent movement, a material supply station adjacent the path of said gripping means, and means for releasing said gripping means after leaving said operating mechanism and in advance of said station and maintaining it in position to receive material until it reaches said station.

7. Means for feeding a. blank to a press comprising a rotary intermittently operated transfer device mounted in fixed relation to the press, means for supporting a blank in the path of said device, gage means for properly positioning the blank on the supporting means, said transfer device including means for gripping a blank, and means for releasing the finished blank. Y

8. A feed device for a press comprising a plurality of gripping means disposed adjacent the press, means forrotating said means with a step' by step movement, means n whereby discs of material may be successively presented in the path of said gripping means, each gripping means including means for closing it upon a disc so presented, and means for opening each gripping means after action on its disc by the press and for maintaining it open until after a new disc has been presented thereto.

9. A feed device for apress comprising a rotary carrierdisc having its periphery dispo-sed adjacent the press, a plurality of yieldable fingers carried thereby and adapted to press thereagainst adjacent its'periphery, a sup-ply station for blanks angularly spaced from said press on the periphery of said disk, means for spacing a finger from the disk beforereachingthe station and releasing it at the station, vand means for intermittently advancing the disk through an angular distance equal to that between the station and press.

Signed at Bristol, Rhode Island, this 20th d-ay of August, 1920.

THOMASv B. HUESTIS. 

